Elders
The Elders, occasionally referred to as the Founders of the Powers That Be, are a group of powerful Whitelighters who advise and watch over the forces of good. Their purpose is to preserve the "greater good" by directing their Whitelighters to guide and protect witches and future Whitelighters. The Elders reside in The Heavens and often communicate with their Whitelighters and Witches by sending them messages, or signs of warning. As beings of good, the Elders also intervene when they seem it necessary and discipline others when they break their rules. Although they are powerful, they are not the highest authority. They are outranked by the Angel of Destiny, the Angel of Death, and possibly many others. It is unknown if they have an authority that they listen to. History The Titans Approximately 1000 BC, the Elders saw the Titans as a risk to the world and themselves. In reply to this expanding threat, they unleashed the powers of the Greek Gods onto mortals, who were then able to imprison the Titans for millennia. However, instead of returning the divine powers back to their resting place after the battle, the mortals declared themselves Gods and forced the known world to worship them, as their abilities had completely overwhelmed their senses of humanity. After and since this crisis was resolved, the Elders have been providing guidance and support and watching over the world from their Heavenly abode. Creation of Whitelighters The Elders began to plan the creation of a race of magical beings that would eventually be called "Whitelighters". Their initial intentions were to make Whitelighters avenging angels, warriors on the side of good fighting against evil. To aid them in this task, the Elders asked a magical blacksmith to produce a weapon for these warriors. However, some Elders thought that the Whitelighters should mere guides to the good magical beings. After a heated discussion that nearly tore the Heavens apart, the faction which sought to make Whitelighters peaceful guides carried the day, and the weapon created by the bladesmith was hidden away. Original Charmed Ones Piper Halliwell first met the Elders when Leo orbed her to the Heavens in 2000. Although Piper soon began to forget, she was furious because the council told her and Leo could no longer see each other and threatened to reassign him. Leo then decided to propose to Piper, as he believed that even the Elders would not break up a holy union. However, when they attempted to get married, the Elders took Leo away after being informed of the wedding by the Triad. After Piper threatened to give up on her magic, the Elders reconsidered and returned Leo to her. They would be given a chance to prove themselves by showing the Elders their relationship would not get in the way of protecting the innocent. The Elders once sent the sisters back in time to save their own ancestor from an evil witch. However, they sent the sisters before Leo could explain what was going on, leaving the sisters to figure it out on their own. The Charmed Ones first saw the Elders in person when Leo orbed them to the Heavens to ambush and vanquish the warlock Eames, who had stolen the powers of Natalie and planned to kill the Elders. In 2002, an Elder named Ramus came to earth in order to retire and pass his powers on to the next destined Elder. He was killed by the demon Arnon, though his powers were transferred to a young witch named Kevin after he was vanquished. The Elders interfered with the Charmed Ones lives numerous times after this, which lead them to have an antagonistic relationship. The Ultimate Battle After the Charmed Ones faked their deaths, the Elders wanted to take Wyatt and Chris Halliwell, as they believed their Grandfather, Victor Bennett could not raise two magical boys properly, though Victor refused. When the Angel of Death warned Piper that Leo was meant to die, she summoned an Elder and an Avatar. However, they were unable to answer her question and directed her to the Angels of Destiny. One of the Elders later appeared before Piper to tell her not to give up hope, at which point Wyatt orbed a cake in his face. In late 2006, Piper summoned Sandra to ask her if Billie and Christy were the ultimate power they were supposed to defeat. Sandra was unable to confirm this, though she believed it to be a possibility. Interference and Melinda Halliwell When Piper and Leo discovered that their daughter, Melinda, miraculously had the power of telekinetic orbing, despite Leo being human during the time of her conception, Leo and Paige went to the Heavens to get answers. Once there, they were greeted by Kyle Brody, who was revealed to have become an Elder. Kyle explained that since Leo was a Whitelighter for so long, his magical abilities became ingrained within his DNA, causing these genes to be passed on to Melinda. The Elders decided to interfere and caused these whitelighter powers to manifest in Melinda, in an attempt to alter the prophecy of the Twice-Blessed Child. They wanted to make both Chris and Melinda twice blessed like Wyatt, which would allow the three first born Halliwell children to inherit a more potent Power of Three and become an even greater force of good than the Charmed Ones. Rules The Elders live by a set of Rules that they enforce on all their Whitelighters, and anyone working for them. If you break a rule, you will have to suffer the consequences. Membership Becoming an Elder The council of Elders was originally believed to consist of high-ranking Whitelighters. However, it was later established that witches and other beings can become Elders as well. This was first shown when the Elder Ramus wanted to retire in 2002. Before he could move on, he was meant to pass his powers on to another destined Elder, later revealed to be the teenaged witch Kevin. Additionally, it is also possible for Whitelighters not destined to become Elders to be elevated to this rank. This was shown after the Titans were released, when Leo Wyatt rose to this rank due to the love he shared with Piper Halliwell and his actions to battle the Titans. Known Elders Category:Fated Category:Book of Shadows Category:Good Beings Category:Magical Beings Category:Species Category:Magical Groups